Japan is an arc-shaped archipelago
about 3,000 km (1,860 miles) in length, located
in Eastern Asia on the island chain in the Pacific
Ocean.It consists of four main islands-Hokkaido,
Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu-as well as more than
4,000 smaller ones (Ogasawara-gunto, Minami-jima,
Nansei-shoto, and others), giving a total land area
roughly the same as Germany, or one-twenty- fifth
that of the United States or China. Around 67% of
the land is mountainous, and plains account for
only 13%. The southern latitude of Japan almost
coincides with that of Los Angeles and the Mediterranean
Sea. The population is homogenous, with 98.5% of
Japanese descent. The remaining ethnic groups, which
represent no more than 1.5% of the population, include
Koreans and Chinese. The predominant religions in
Japan are Buddhism and Shinto, which together account
for 84% of the religions present in the country.
Imported Confucianism and Taoism are less popular,
with Christianity worshipped by only 0.7% of the
population.The country has seven
volcanic zones, one of which is Mr. Fuji, and lies
on a complex system of four tectonic plates including
the Pacific and Eurasian plates, resulting in frequent
earthquakes.

Climate

The four seasons are very distinct in Japan due
to its mountainous topography and monsoon climate.
Another characteristic of the country is the contrasting
climates of its northern, southern, eastern and
western areas. The northernmost region is very cold
in the winter and cool in the summer, while the
southernmost part has mild winters and hot, rainy
summers. The Pacific side has dry winters with very
litter snow, while the Sea of Japan side has heavy
snowfalls in winter. Since Japan is situated in
the typhoon corridor it receives a great deal of
rain in summer, particularly in the southernmost
area and the Pacific side. June and July are the
months of the rainy season. . During September and
early October, tropical low-pressure systems can
develop into typhoons over the Pacific. Travelers
should pay attention to storm warnings, particularly
for coastal areas, if traveling in Japan

Politics

The country is a constitutional monarchy. The
Emperor of Japan is still a symbol of the nation,
but political power belongs to a parliamentary government
and is actually concentrated in the hands of top
politicians and members of the business elite. The
capital of Japan is Tokyo and the country is divided
into 47 administrative prefectures. The modern legal
system is derived from the German Civil Law and
influenced by the English and American legislatures.
Japan observes universal suffrage - a voting system
which has existed in the country for about 20 years.
The major political parties are: Democratic Party
of Japan, leaded by I. Ozawa, Japan Communist Party
headed by K. Shii, Komeito with its leader A. Ota;
and less influential Liberal Democratic and Social
Democratic Parties of Japan.

People's lives

Most workers except for those in service-related
occupations work from 9 to 5, with Saturdays and
national holidays off. The majority of students
also have the same days off. Since the new school
year starts in April in Japan£¬ that is the time
when the students starts in a news grade or move
on to higher education. It is also when many personal
transfers take place in companies. The introduction
of daylight saving time is currently under study,
but as of 2003 it has not yet been initiated.